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Bon Appétit

Grilled Broccoli With Avocado and Sesame

5.0

(17)

A salad of grilled broccoli and red onions with avocado sesame seeds and cilantro.
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li

Broccoli can take more heat on the grill than you might think; it won’t taste burnt unless you actually set it on fire.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

Pickled Jalapeños

½

cup white balsamic vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar

¼

cup dry white wine or water

3

tablespoons sugar

1

tablespoon kosher salt

3

jalapeños, halved lengthwise, seeded

Broccoli and Dressing

1

avocado, halved

1

small garlic clove, finely chopped

¼

cup tahini

1

teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

7

tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

⅓

cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, plus more for serving

8

tablespoons olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1

pound broccoli (about 2 medium heads), stems peeled, heads halved lengthwise

1

medium red onion, sliced into ½-inch rings

1

tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

  1. Pickled Jalapeños

    Step 1

    Bring vinegar, wine, sugar, and salt to a simmer over medium-high heat in a small saucepan. Place jalapeños in a small bowl or jar and pour brine over. Let sit until cool, or at least 1 hour.

    Step 2

    Do Ahead: Pickled jalapeños can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill.

  2. Broccoli and Dressing

    Step 3

    Prepare a grill for medium, direct heat. Purée one avocado half, garlic, tahini, lemon zest, 5 Tbsp. lemon juice, ⅓ cup cilantro, 4 Tbsp. oil, and 2 Tbsp. water in a blender, adding a splash of water if needed, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

    Step 4

    Toss broccoli and onion with 2 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until broccoli crowns are dark brown in places and stems are crisp-tender, 5–7 minutes. Let cool slightly.

    Step 5

    Coarsely chop broccoli and onion. Toss in a medium bowl with remaining 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and 2 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper.

    Step 6

    Spread tahini dressing on a serving platter and top with broccoli mixture. Drain some of the pickled jalapeños (you will have extra). Top broccoli mixture with remaining chopped half of avocado, sesame seeds, drained jalapeños, and more cilantro.

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Reviews (17)

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  • Love this recipe! the best part is the pickled jalapeno sauce, i use it for my salads and on my veggies, so yummy! this is the 3rd time we have made this and love it from the avocado spread, the tahini and the red onion.

    • Cheryl McComas

    • Bel Air, MD

    • 7/2/2022

  • I made a version of this. I used some pickled Jalapenos from a jar, rather than making my own. They gave the recipe a big lift when a random mouthfull snagged one, definately a great addition. I added a bed of spinach leaves, some kalamata olives and some grilled mushrooms (because they needed using up, but left out the onion and sesame. As others have said this is a great lunch.

    • Anonymous

    • Perth Australia

    • 9/14/2020

  • Very nice recipe. I didn't use balsamic, but a mixture of xerex vinegar, chopped habanero, lemon juice and a little honey to deglaze the grilled broccoli. Skipped the jalapenos. One avocado was enough, the dressing was fatty enough as I replaced the tahine with blended grilled pine nuts and walnuts. Finished everyhing with some sumak for freshness. Some toasted sour dough bread on the side! Heavenly lunch!

    • Grinnings

    • Belgium

    • 7/21/2020

  • super tasty recipe both my mum and I would highly recommend! I would agree with more avocado if you like avocado and would recommend some nice bread on the side, we found focaccia which was delicious. I also decided to fry the broccoli instead of grill which was delicious. Will definitely be having again!!

    • katyasaint

    • bristol UK

    • 5/1/2020

  • The best recipe I've found on Bon Appetit. I haven't done the pickled jalapeños but the broccoli + tahini dressing is excellent and good for any occasion. I recommend picking up 2 or 3 avocados instead of 1 - who wouldn't want more? The dressing can also take a serrano or two if you're into heat.

    • SrAsparagus

    • Oakland, CA

    • 10/14/2019

  • Fantastic recipe, the only catch is that Keto is highly macro-nutrient centric, so a table of nutritional values ( average analysis or just whole-dish) would be of huge benefit to the strict calculating dieter.

    • Anonymous

    • Florida

    • 2/22/2019